Chapter 1054: Astonishing the World (31)_1

The next morning, when Eddie woke up, he found a bunch of Christmas decorations scattered across the table. Shocked, he jumped off the couch, banging his head as he shouted, "Venom! Venom! Did you sneak out last night? Did you yank down these decorations from the streets?!"

"Are you stupid?" Venom responded lazily, his voice suggesting he had also just woken up. He licked his lips before replying, "Didn't you notice the wrapping paper on the floor? These things are new, how could they be from the streets? Honestly, you have zero detective skills. How did I end up with such a moronic host?"

Eddie rubbed his eyes, sounding hoarse as he asked, "New? How did we end up with new Christmas decorations? Christmas is still days away, and I was planning to go shopping tomorrow..."

Just then, the door creaked open. Thor entered, carrying a bunch of bags, followed by Shiller. Eddie turned, asking in confusion, "Where've you guys been so early in the morning, and what's going on with these decorations?"

"Yesterday, Venom gobbled up the dessert gifts I brought, leaving none for you and Shiller. So, this morning, I flew back to Norway to buy some more. There was a promotion at the store; they were giving free Christmas decorations with your purchase. So, I bought some extra."

"Bought some extra..." Eddie followed Thor's gaze. The sight of a wall full of dessert bags made him draw in a sharp breath. "How much did you buy? Can we even eat all of this?"

After setting down his things, Thor shrugged, "I landed in a small alleyway in Norway, and as soon as I emerged onto the main road, I ran into a few self-proclaimed photographers. They said I looked like Thor and asked if I could model for them. They wanted a picture."

"Even though I don't get your human obsession with taking pictures, I agreed. Afterwards, they insisted on compensating me. I refused, but they gave me a dessert shop gift card with thousands of kroner on it. So, I bought some extra."

Eddie looked at the things in Thor's hand again. Thor too looked at the parcels in his hand and said, "Oh, these are the ingredients for Christmas dinner. Look, there's turkey, steak, and a few nice fish..."

Eddie looked at him in bafflement. "Don't you see anything wrong with this? You're Thor!"

Eddie bellowed, "You're a Norse god! Why are you celebrating Jesus's birthday?!?!"

Thor looked nonplussed, "So, Christmas is about celebrating Jesus's birthday? I just thought you humans arbitrarily named a holiday for the sake of having a party…"

"Well, you're not wrong..." Eddie hesitated, then said, "Last time we ran a feature at work where we asked passer-bys what Christmas means to them, at least half didn't know Christmas was about celebrating Jesus's birthday…"

Thor shrugged, setting all the bags on the table, then said, "Look, you humans just use any excuse to celebrate, and sometimes I envy that. Despite your weaknesses, you guys are pretty happy."

"Thor, I take back what I said yesterday. You haven't changed one bit. You have a talent for turning compliments into something irritating." Eddie also stepped forward to help sort the bags, taking out the contents to freeze them.

Meanwhile, Shiller, carrying his two bags, headed for the couch. After setting down the shopping bags, he hauled out two cases of beer, three large packs of cigarettes, a box of cigars, and a couple of strange drugs.

Not until then did Eddie remember that Shiller had also left the house. He turned around just as Shiller was tipping a handful of small pills into his mouth. Eddie swiftly stretched out a hand, yelling, "Venom!"

In a flash, a surge of black slime burst out, "whooosh", and the pills in Shiller's hand vanished. The next second, Eddie was clutching his throat and coughing violently. He exclaimed, "What the hell is this? It's so bitter?!"

"Cough cough! Cough cough cough!" Eddie coughed frantically, and then began to dry-heave. He half knelt on the floor, pounding it as he yelled, "Venom! Venom! Get that stuff out of me!"

Venom started laughing at Eddie's distress, just as he saw Shiller opening another bottle of medication. Eddie stumbled over to the couch, grabbed Shiller's wrist, and let go of the stuff in his hand. Turning to Thor, he said, "You took Shiller to Norway with you?"

"I didn't know, when I activated the teleport, he suddenly moved closer. It's a range magic, so..." Thor shrugged, glancing at Shiller's state casually, "Just bought some booze, right? No biggie. This amount wouldn't even serve as an appetizer in Asgard."

"He's mentally ill!" Eddie emphasized, "He's in the midst of a relapse. He must avoid smoking and drinking, and can't just randomly take medication!"

Reminded of Loki's previous warning, Thor shook his head and said, "You humans overthink too much. In my view, what worries can't be solved by several bottles of good booze?"

"Never mind, Shiller, don't drink that tasteless beer. Next time I return to Asgard, I'll bring you the good stuff. And Asgard has great tobacco – definitely stronger than anything on Earth!"

"Thor Odinson!" Eddie slapped the back of the sofa.

Thor turned silent. Meanwhile, Shiller was unsuccessfully trying to pry open the top of a beer can, seemingly unable to apply enough force.

Inwardly, Eddie said to Venom, "I don't remember the special education teachers saying this disease would affect one's motor skills too. Should we read up on some professional literature?"

"You, learning psychology with that brain of yours?" Venom scoffed, "Come on, let's switch on the computer. I need it."

Before leaving, Eddie locked away all the beers, tobacco, and drugs that Shiller had brought back in a safe. Shiller sat on the sofa looking drowsy, but his fingers were still trembling.

In his study, Eddie started researching. As he scrolled through the information, he muttered to himself, "Symptoms of muscle convulsion... I can't find it, wait a minute, down here, possible complications..."

"Look, it says here that, after certain treatments, those on the autism spectrum can return to a normal social life. But they must pay more attention to their mental health than the average person. Otherwise, the chances of suffering from other mental illnesses or psychological issues are higher than those of normal people..."

As he read, Eddie's brows furrowed more and more deeply. Venom said in his mind, "Isn't this very normal? This kind of disease can't be completely cured, and their behaviors will be somewhat different from ordinary people."

"And you humans, not to mention different behaviors, even if they behave exactly the same, you would come up with other reasons to exclude them. If they get excluded in society and their mental state is unstable, of course, they're more prone to psychological problems," Venom added.

"I think this isn't working." Eddie shook his head as he said, "Although I did not participate much in the solar system development plan, I also know how important this psychologist is. What do you think we should do?"

Caught off guard, Venom hesitated for a bit before speaking, "It's definitely a bad idea to let him stay at your place like this. Haven't you noticed? He's depending on alcohol, tobacco, and drugs to numb himself, but such a state can't go on forever."

"Don't Stark and the others care about him?" Eddie said angrily, "I remember Shiller is friends with both Iron Man and Captain America, right? Don't these superheroes care about their friends?"

Venom suddenly swallowed hard and then whistled a bit. Eddie, somewhat dubious, queried: "... Are you hiding something from me?"

"Not at all. You're reading too much into it. Let's concentrate on how to treat Shiller," Venom answered somewhat uneasily.

As Eddie browsed the data while moving his mouse, he said, "I happen to have something I want to do. However, I'm not sure if Shiller can be of help in his current state... Nevermind, it's good to divert his attention as well."

After saying this, he closed his laptop and walked out of his room. When he arrived in the living room, he saw that Thor had already started to fiddle with Christmas decorations.

Eddie sighed and said to Thor, "Did you notice that you've bought everything except one item?"

After saying this, he raised the garland in his hand and said, "Without a Christmas tree, where do you plan to put all these decorations?"

Eddie clapped his hands, attracting the two men, "Since we decided to spend this Christmas together, we should decorate nicely and prepare a grand meal."

"But first, I need to take Shiller back to his clinic to get his stuff."

After these words, Eddie was about to leave with Shiller when Shiller, appearing normal all over again, wanted to pick up his old, filthy overcoat. Eddie found one of his coats for Shiller instead. Shiller put it on despite the slight disgust on his face.

The two men left the apartment building. Given that Shiller's clinic was not far, merely across two blocks, they chose to walk instead of driving. Soon, however, Eddie regretted that decision as Shiller's condition hit midway.

Shiller began to shake all over, muttering gibberish, completely lost control over his upper body, had to lean against a wall and took deep breaths.

Eddie, hosting the Symbiont, could heal the majority of physical injuries, but for a physical convulsion caused by a mental state, similar to withdrawal symptoms, he had no good solutions. He could only wait by the side, hoping Shiller would recover on his own.

As Shiller crouched uncontrollably by the wall, Eddie felt distressed. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he reached into his pocket and grumbled under his breath, "Damn it, I forgot to bring cigarettes. Venom, why didn't you remind me?"

"Who said they were going to quit smoking before?" Venom replied testily.

Eddie sighed, then started to look around, hoping to find a nearby store.

But just then, a man wearing a hoody and carrying a bag emerged from the corner where Shiller was squatting.

The man seemed equally surprised to find the two of them there. He immediately took a defensive step back, clutching his bag. Sensing his action, Eddie also went on alert.

But at that moment, Shiller began to cough uncontrollably, eventually sinking to his knees, retching violently. It looked like his respiratory muscles were convulsing uncontrollably, leaving him unable to control himself. He started shaking, then became stiff, frozen in place.

The man, still clutching his bag, hesitated for a moment before shouting, "Epilepsy! It's neurogenic epilepsy!"

Eddie rushed forward to help Shiller, but the man dropped his bag, blocking Eddie, "You can't touch him while he's having a seizure, otherwise he could dislocate a joint. Keep your distance..."

At this point, Eddie turned to see the leather bag, dropped by the stranger, with a zipper partially open.

Peering into the space, Eddie realized the bag did not contain office supplies, but a bundle of dynamite.